2X Global Summit 2025 Special Edition

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Subject: 2X Global Summit 2025 Special Edition

2X Global: Unlocking gender-smart capital at scale

Dear Friend,

We’re landing in your inbox with a special edition, because the 2X Global Summit 2025 is just around the corner.

This year’s Summit, co-hosted with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), will take place in Manila, Philippines, from 2–4 September 2025. Our annual gathering brings together over 200 members and strategic partners, capital providers and field-builders across all asset classes and regions to shape the future of gender-smart finance.

With the Summit now being hosted in a third continent, following our 2024 edition in Africa and our earlier editions in Europe, this moment reflects both the global reach of the 2X Global movement and the urgent need to channel more capital to women everywhere. In Asia, the world’s most populous continent, questions around unlocking capital for women, closing persistent gaps and raising the bar on investment standards are full of potential.

Under the theme Women Driving Resilience, we’ll explore how women’s adaptability and innovation help communities, markets and entire systems navigate disruption, from climate change and AI to geopolitical and economic shifts.

With just over three weeks left to go, momentum is building. Across three days of interactive sessions, we’ll explore practical tools, capital innovations and investment practices that shift power, close gender gaps, and transform systems. Expect candid conversations, sharp insights and real-world solutions.

Explore the Summit page.

Scroll down for curated articles and research tied to summit themes and speakers.

In Community,

2X Global team

2X Global Summit Reads

Thoughts from our Co-Host on the first 2X Global Summit in Africa.

Women are building climate-resilient cities through innovation in China. ADB showcases how women lead sponge city design, redesign infrastructure and mobilise communities. A compelling look at inclusive urban leadership and a powerful example of inclusive climate action grounded in technical skill and local ownership. Read the full case study.

FinDev Canada, alongside SMBC, BII, EFA and JICA, has facilitated a USD 350 million syndicated loan to VPBank in Vietnam, financing social, green and infrastructure initiatives over a five‑year term. At least 40% of funds target women‑led MSMEs and climate projects, aligning 100% with the 2X Criteria for gender‑lens investing. Read the news.

Challenges and opportunities facing women in fintech.

G7 Development Finance Institutions are stepping up collaboration to mobilise private capital in infrastructure, critical minerals and food systems, through joint action that includes the first G7 Development Finance Days and a PGII expert working group chaired by FinDev Canada. Read more.

Women spearheading research into an overlooked medium for medical diagnostics.

PIDG’s new Gender Lens Investing Policy redefines how infrastructure finance can be a driver of equity. Concrete targets, decision-making safeguards, and a strong theory of change to operationalise gender and inclusion at every stage of investment, are some of the features in this practical blueprint for equity-driven development finance. View the policy.

PIDG Pulse podcast calls to #AccelerateAction on inclusion. Gender-smart infrastructure projects in Cambodia, East Africa and India are gaining traction. Tune in as leaders reflect on progress and parity timelines. Listen to the episode.

How are gendered-ESG practices transforming cacao value chains in the Philippines? This case study examines how a partnership between PPSA and MEDA is helping cooperatives and SMEs adopt inclusive leadership and climate-aware practices, benefiting over 5,400 farmers, 40% of them women, with a ripple impact to 25,000 more. Read it here.

DWM’s latest report spotlights inclusive finance in action. 25.5 million lives reached, most of them women in low-income contexts, through purpose-driven capital across 33 countries. Explore how climate-smart lending and SME support are reshaping local economies. Read the full report

A new evidence-based toolkit introduces a practical ‘menu’ of 19 indicators to measure women’s economic empowerment, focusing not just on income or credit, but also on agency, decision-making, and financial well-being. Developed by MEDA and FinEquity, it offers practical guidance for financial inclusion practitioners seeking to track real-world impact. Learn more.

Up to 1.2 million climate-smart jobs could be created in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2030. A report from Shell Foundation and Open Capital details untapped job opportunities for women. The study breaks down barriers in clean cooking, e‑mobility and agro-processing, highlights systemic challenges such as hiring biases, limited training and weak access to finance, and provides actionable recommendations to design more inclusive value chains. Download the full report. If you're attending the 2X Global Summit 2025 and want to learn even more about the study and its findings, you can join the session led by Shell Foundation and Open Capital on day one, 'Creating Pathways to 1.2 Million Climate-Smart Jobs'. Contact Katie Brauer for more details and to confirm your space at this member-led session.

Global gender equity is still stalling at the top of business. Equileap’s 2025 Top 100 Gender Equality Ranking evaluates 3,547 public companies on 19 indicators, yet only 7% of CEOs and approximately 16% of CFOs are women, figures that remain persistently low. The report reveals gains in transparency but a persistent gap in senior leadership. Read the full report.

GGSF mobilises critical capital to empower women-led financial inclusion globally. The Global Gender‑Smart Fund’s 2024 Annual Report reveals over USD 300 million deployed to transform financial systems supporting women entrepreneurs across Asia and Africa. Discover how tailored capital and training fuel long-term impact. Read the full report.

StartupLab’s story in Climate‑KIC’s latest feature showcases how women entrepreneurs are scaling climate-smart businesses in Mexico. Founder Ana Greta Ibañez partners with CATAL1.5°T, Salesforce Foundation and others to equip digital tools, local mentorship and market linkages, turning grassroots initiatives into community resilience engines in rural and urban Mexico. Read the feature.

Deetken Impact profiles Susana García Robles as a regional force. With roots in IDB Lab and WeXchange, she blends gender leadership and ROI. Discover how her “Made in LAC” approach drives inclusive, data-driven investing. Read the full profile.

The Ilu Toolbox equips SMEs to lead with a gender lens. Developed by Pro Mujer and Deetken Impact, it guides companies through four gender‑lens dimensions (leadership, workplace equity, product design and inclusive value chains) empowering SMEs across Latin America to embed gender equality into governance, culture and operations. Explore the Toolbox.

TLG Capital’s recent partnership with the Development Bank of Kenya unlocked a $6.5 million private credit facility for Ark Group, supporting school expansion in Nairobi and Kitengela and reviving a local education business that had seen financing costs fall from 45% to just 15%. A clear-cut example of how well‑structured capital can reinvigorate SMEs and sustain community impact. Read the full story.

We look forward to meeting many of you in Manila! Be a part of 2X Global and join our member-exclusive events.

Explore membership.

The 2024 2X Global Summit in Nairobi set the tone for what bold, collective action on gender-smart investing looks like. Watch the playlist to get a feel of the Summit experience.

Watch the playlist.

We’re proud to count on the support of leading organisations joining us in Manila to amplify gender-smart solutions. The following organisations are helping to make the 2X Global Summit 2025 a reality.

Our co-host

Summit partners

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Subject: 2X Global Summit 2025 Special Edition